The Pink Flamingo is convinced that Arizona’s governor, Jan Brewer, has just signed the death warrant for the GOP in Arizona.

From The Feathered Bastard:

“…The first hand Governor Brewer shook after signing the bill into law was that of Mark Spencer of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, who has been a vocal supporter of the law and who has transformed his police union into a full-on nativist organization.

Nearby was Russell Pearce himself, who held court before reporters, and also claimed that racial profiling would not be the result.

I took the opportunity to ask Pearce over and over again the source for some of the bogus statistics he’s used as rationale for his racist piece of legislation. I was particularly interested in his claim that 50 percent of all homicides in Phoenix have been committed by illegal aliens.

Pearce could not cite a source for the stat. There’s good reason for this. Both the Phoenix Police Department and the FBI have informed me that they do not retain statistics related to the immigration status of perpetrators.

According to the Phoenix PD’s stats, about half of all murders in 2008 were uncleared. So there is no way Pearce would have been able to obtain this fake factoid.

At one point Pearce told a Hispanic reporter he would not talk to her. I asked him if he didn’t want to speak to the Spanish-language media because he’s a racist. He walked away from me. Some press person for the governor or DPS finally shielded his retreat.

People are angry, and they should be. Pearce’s bill was passed with the help of a pack of prevarications, half-truths, and twisted stats. Now racial profiling has become law in Arizona. Civil unrest may be a natural, and unfortunate, result. …”

She has signed laws that signal the beginning of a version of Jim Crow Laws against Hispanics. What she did was wrong, only to salvage a political career the perhaps should not be salvaged.

“… Andrew Napolitano: She’s gonna bankrupt the Republican Party and the state of Arizona. Look at what happened to the Republicans in California with the proposition —

Cavuto: What happens?

Napolitano: Ah, Hispanics — who have a natural home in the Republican Party because they are socially conservative — will flee in droves. She’s also gonna bankrupt her state, because no insurance company will provide coverage for this. And for all the lawsuits that will happen — for all the people that are wrongfully stopped — her budget will be paying for it. Her budget will be paying the legal bills of the lawyers who sue on behalf of those that were stopped.

This will be a disaster for Arizona — to say nothing of the fact that it’s so unconstitutional that I predict a federal judge will prevent Arizona from enforcing it as soon as they attempt to do so. That will probably be tomorrow…..”

The unintended consequences could have devastating financial effects on a state already suffering, partially because of Brewer’s abject incompetence. (This is the woman who approved the closing of the Tombstone Courthouse).

“...It remains to be seen if the law will help or hurt Brewer’s reelection bid among a packed Republican field. At an appearance last week at the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Black and White ball the group’s president urged her to veto the proposal. According to a discussion on NPR 17% of Arizona’s eligible voters are Hispanic, which could be critical in upcoming elections if they head to the polls….”

The Pink Flamingo has repeatedly stated that THE REAL PROBLEM along the border is the drug war. Brewer’s deplorable actions were a reaction to the events in Cochise County these past few weeks. What was never mentioned was that the problem there is not illegal immigration but the movement of a tremendous amount of illegal narcotics.

It is about the drug war, stupid!

Brewer’s pathetic actions take attention away from the very real and abjectly terrifying problem of the drug war. People who live in Las Cruces are terrified that the drug war will move in on them. Right now Obama is doing NOTHING about the problem. People are dying. That is the real problem.

The bill, is sponsored by Russell Pearce.

“…It’s one of several trips Arpaio’s made to SoCal to support Hunt and San Diego County sheriff’s candidate Jay LaSuer. On one occasion, he even had a photo op with well-known California nativist Barbara Coe, a shameful display of pandering to the racist fringe. You see, Coe likes to refer to Mexicans as “savages,” and is essentially the female version of our own number one bigot, state Senator Russell Pearce….”

If the bill, sponsored by Russell Pearce (who has proven neo-nazi connections) is so good, why aren’t those of us who live in New Mexico rushing to enact it. The same thing is true in Texas. We are not. Then again, we are NOT Arizona. I do not think someone like Joe Arpaio, with his proven ties to white supremacist groups and his numerous human right’s violations could be elected here. In AZ he has something like a 68% approval rating, which makes a person wonder about the brains of some people who live there (and I have a bunch of friends who live there).

“…Healthcare in the Maricopa County jails has been the subject of a series of lawsuits, studies, and reports that have concluded the same thing: Inmates get grossly inadequate healthcare. In September 2008, the jails’ healthcare system lost its accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. It has not been reinstated...”.

There are very few Republicans who have the courage to speak out against these new Draconian and repulsive laws. One of the few is Mike Huckabee who nails the whole problem:

“…This is where Huckabee comes in. Huckabee told Fox’s Neil Cavuto that he is worried about the law in three areas. One, it will open up the state to lawsuits as civil libertarians and those concerned with racial profiling will turn to litigation. Two, it takes immigration enforcement outside of the hands of the federal government, who really is responsible for enforcing our laws on this issue. Lastly, it may lead to the unfair targeting of Hispanics, many of whom are in the country legally and properly, and may even be analogous to past and current racial profiling against African Americans….”

I have Hispanic friends here in New Mexico who live in dread of what is coming next. They are Republicans. They vote. They no longer have the freedom to move around the country without carrying a pass-port, birth certificate, voting registration card, social security card or a driver’s license.

“…During a routine trip to Lower Buckeye Jail to translate for a public defender meeting with a client, Delgadillo checked a box on the new entry form showing he is a naturalized U.S. citizen. But because he could offer no proof of his naturalization, he was refused admittance. This, even though he had presented his court ID to the guards.

“When you get your citizenship,” Delgadillo said recently, “they don’t tell you that you have to carry that paperwork always with you. And they don’t say, ‘There are two classes of citizens. The first class are the ones born here, the second are [those not born here].’ You know, we have the same rights. There’s no difference.”

Indeed, once the press got the story, Arpaio had to admit the error, and the MCSO changed the form so that it did not discriminate against naturalized citizens. It was a rare moment of retreat for Arpaio. Nevertheless, the MCSO maintained its policy of threatening those here illegally with arrest if they dared visit someone held in his jails.

Delgadillo has not forgiven or forgotten the incident. He sees a direct link between the sort of prejudice toward Mexicans he has observed in Arizona, and in Arpaio’s reactionary policies singling out Latinos. He openly abhors Arpaio’s abuses of power, such as the MCSO’s nighttime raid on the Mesa public library in 2008, and the recent incident involving MCSO detention officer Adam Stoddard…”

Why?

The story that is NOT being covered by anyone but a few stalwart liberals is how corrupt Joe Arpaio and his goon squad is. No one cares. He is a GOOD conservative. That is all that matters. The Bill of Rights can be trampled. No matter. They’re just lousy Mexicans.

“...The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for vitally important law-enforcement functions in one of the largest counties in the nation. It defines its core missions as law-enforcement services, support services, and detention.

MCSO falls seriously short of fulfilling its mission in all three areas. Although MCSO is adept at self-promotion and is an unquestionably “tough” law-enforcement agency, under its watch violent crime rates recently have soared, both in absolute terms and relative to other jurisdictions. It has diverted resources away from basic law-enforcement functions to highly publicized immigration sweeps, which are ineffective in policing illegal immigration and in reducing crime generally, and to extensive trips by MCSO officials to Honduras for purposes that are nebulous at best. Profligate spending on those diversions helped produce a financial crisis in late 2007 that forced MCSO to curtail or reduce important law-enforcement functions.

In terms of support services, MCSO has allowed a huge backlog of outstanding warrants to accumulate, and has seriously disadvantaged local police departments by closing satellite booking facilities. MCSO’s detention facilities are subject to costly lawsuits for excessive use of force and inadequate medical services. Compounding the substantive problems are chronically poor record-keeping and reporting of statistics, coupled with resistance to public disclosure….”

I wonder if that is how the Jews felt in Germany…..?

I do hope the extreme right is proud of itself. This is a shining moment for them. They need to go out and drink some tea and enjoy their moments while they last. When you endorse this sort of behavior, nothing good comes of it. The real disaster is how very few people have the courage to speak out against this sort of bigotry masquerading as law and order.

I keep going back to the fact that here in New Mexico we are faced with the same problems. We are not resorting to racial profiling and bigotry. It truly makes one wonder what is going on in Arizona. It is not good. Are there any Republicans who have the courage to speak out for what is right and honorable?

Good article! I love the scenic beauty of Arizona but I hate this law! I’m an AZ native btw. Never cared for Arpaio nor Russell Pearce. Both are so slimey! Didn’t know Arpaio have ties to white supremacist groups. I always knew something wasn’t right about him – like a “darkness” of some sort. Wish the AZ press would expose that side of Arpaio.

Funny how the news media jumped on this Arizona immigration law story but completely IGNORED the following: John McCain and the Republicans seem to be leading the charge toward a police state:

S.3081 – Enemy Belligerent, Interrogation, Detention and Prosecution Act of 2010 proposed by Senators Lieberman and McCain “…removes the right to trial for American Citizens and gives government the AUTHORITY to detain Americans INDEFINITELY for SUSPECTED TERRORIST ACTIVITY…”
WHAT?

The really IMPORTANT thing about this Act is just WHO defines SUSPECTED ACTIVITY? I’m sure the CRIMINALS and CONS who oversaw the recent economic meltdown (or what I like to call greatest looting of a nation’s wealth and resources in the history of mankind) FEEL THREATENED by the ACTIVITY involved with calls for JUSTICE.

Republicans know DEMANDS for ethics, responsibility and accountability are going to come down HARD on them. Especially McCain/Lieberman who’ve been covering up Banking/Financial/Wall St SCANDALS since the 80’s. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what comes next…

Like wealthy Aristocrats have been saying all through history: “We can hire half the POOR PEOPLE to get rid of the rest, especially the boat-rockers”. So LAW ENFORCEMENT will be protecting those who ravaged and expatriated most of our nation’s wealth and resources from punishment for their crimes… It’s like these GOP elitists are telling Americans to “EAT CAKE”.

If Republicans take back Congress there’s definitely going to be some kind of revolution not long after. The Concerned Citizens of America have seen the light…

I’m going to make sure future generation know about dolts who vote Republican Party so THEY don‘t make the mistakes. Republicans/Conservatives have PROVEN THEMSELVES to be the worst kind of human beings. And suckers too, these so-called great Americans allowed themselves to be LIED TO over and over. Paranoia, misinformation, fear mongering, racism, hypocrisy and hysteria on a level not seen since the McCarthy Era.

Conservative wackos are NOT well-informed or smart enough to recognize the CON… these right-wing reactionaries got PLAYED FOR FOOLS, bigtime! Bush/Cheney, NEED I SAY MORE? SO WHY SHOULD ANY AMERICAN CITIZEN TRUST THEM NOW?

THE PLEDGE:
I’m going to shout IT from the hills and preach IT in the valleys. I’ll post IT on the message boards, tell IT in chat rooms and tweet IT on Twitter. Cold call, register voters, circulate petitions… I’ll get up on the soapbox and speak to ANYONE who wants to LISTEN! I’ll organize MASSIVE letter/email writing campaigns to CONCERNED CITIZENS everywhere. You LOVE the USA? Then the ONLY reasonable, rational, common sense thing to do is GET RID OF REPUBLICAN PARTY. Kick the vain, corrupt, lying silver spoon ******’s down to 3rd Party status… You Republicans are NOT even a political party anymore… MORE LIKE A CULT!
AMEN and GOD bless America, for REAL this time…
lol
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"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”--Sinclair Lewis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SJ Reidhead (aka The Pink Flamingo) is a writer based in New Mexico. The author of two published novels, both westerns: Dust Devil and The Second Mrs. Earp and two published works of non-fictions: TRAVESTY: Frank Waters Earp Agenda Exposed and A Church for Helldorado, Endicott Peabody's 1882 Tombstone Diary. One of the leading authorities on the life of Wyatt Earp and Tombstone during the Earp years, she is currently writing a series of murder mysteries set in modern day Tombstone. The author is also working on a book about fashion in the Wild West. When complete, there will be over 2100 unpublished antique photographs dating from 1855-1910.

The author's work has appeared in Wild West, True West, Blogcritics, and The Tombstone Times. Recently the author has had to deal with a father in Stage 4 Alzheimer's Disease. This is leading to a book dealing with the frustrations of dealing with the frustrations of the disease, finance, legal, health-care, and things no one bothers telling families about it.

SJ Reidhead has been involved in Republican politics since she was 'a little kid'. During the Reagan years she was a lobbyist working with various non-profit organizations who were attempting to salvage NASA and the American space program after the disastrous Carter years. Unfortunately, because of the libertarian take-over of the GOP, and the rise of the Tea Parties, as the Republican Party becomes more and more extreme and marginalized, it is impossible to remain loyal to the GOP. The Pink Flamingoremains GOP in order to try to bring the party back to what it once was. I fear it is an impossible task.

The Pink Flamingo went on line on October 4, 2005, after the author realized "normal" Republicans were being marginalized as the extreme far right attempts to become the new normal. In November, 2012, The Pink Flamingo, for the first time ever, voted for a Democrat, Barack Obama. Normal will never again apply to the GOP.

THE PINK FLAMINGO STORY

It started out as a joke. During the seven years I worked with the girls of my parish, leading a youth group, one of the things that I stressed were manners. Part of having manners, the way I see it, is to know how to set a proper table, host a party, cater it, and clean up afterward. I was fortunate enough to have a group of very talented girls in my youth group. They learned how to plan for, and execute large church functions, very properly. During one such function I noticed there were several incredibly tacky pink flamingos sitting on the table. Knowing the girls were up to something, I said nothing. A few months later they did the same thing at a function I was hosting at my home. I said nothing. They had a birthday party for me. More pink flamingos appeared - and a joke was born.

Thanks to the girls, all of whom are now grown, I have a collection of pink flamingos. It has become an ongoing joke. When I began working on my political blog, I realized the only possibly title was The Pink Flamingo!